The Web went wild over a recently discovered patent application filed by JPMorgan for a digital-payment network that it describes as “a computer-implemented method of providing an anonymous payment.”

The craze was due in part to similarities between the patent and bitcoin, especially the use of the description “anonymous payment” and the open publication of payment addresses on the Internet.

The virtual currency and protocol bitcoin has attracted the attention of tech companies, bankers, venture capitalists and regulators this year as its price has swung dramatically.

Bank of America released a research note on bitcoin last week that highlighted its potential as a medium of exchange.

The patent application, dated Nov. 28 and filed Aug. 5, was pointed out on Monday by Let’s Talk Bitcoin. Related patent documents were first filed on May 3, 1999 and as recently as March 8 of this year. The first related patent was awarded on Feb. 3, 2000. The lead inventor was Denis O’Leary, according to the patent application, who appears to no longer work for the bank.

It’s not clear what parts of the patent application, if any, have been changed from the previous version. Still, it underscores how long banks have been interested in digital payments.

And how a whole new crop of rivals, from Internet giants Google and Amazon to bitcoin exchanges like Mt. Gox, threatens to squeeze them out of the core banking business of transferring payments.

In fact, some of the language in the JPMorgan’s patent application appears to be a remnant from the early days of the Internet, when Beanie Babies made eBay a household word and most consumers were debating whether to abandon paper checks at the supermarket.